***Watanabe Residence, Hayring Village, Kamisu 66***
After class, Saki invited Maria to stay overnight so they could spend some time together and share a nice dinner. Saki lived in Hayring, a half an hour's walk from Sage Academy. Maria was happy to walk for the chance to talk alone with Saki and enjoy being out in the summer evening.
The sky was turning pinkish with the first hints of sunset when the girls reached the Watanabe Residence. It was a modest but elegant pagoda-style house with two stories and a small attic. The abode was built just feet away from one of the water canals that crisscrossed and connected all of Kamisu 66. Several rare boats were tied up next to the house, and behind that there was a shed full of the highest quality fishing supplies. Saki's family did not spend their fairly abundant funds on making the house look better; instead, each of Saki's parents invested money and time into their hobbies. For Mr. Watanabe, it was fishing, and for Mrs. Watanabe, it was book-collecting and reading.
The girls entered the house, still chattering about their thoughts and interests, and debating over which students would choose each other as lovers. After removing their shoes and washing up, Saki and Maria went in the kitchen and got to work. While Saki worked on the main course of tonkastu, Maria prepared the ton-jiru soup. Mrs. Watanabe sat in the next room (the dining area) using her Cantus to generate a small amount of electricity to power the rice cooker.
"I may not be a great cook," said Maria, slicing up strips of leftover pork to mix into the simmered soup stock, "but I do enjoy it. I'll try to cook anything once. I wonder if that will be a blessing or a curse to my future husband?"
"It's definitely a blessing," Saki replied, covering the quality pork cutlets with egg and panko. "You don't give yourself enough credit; your cooking is wonderful. As for me, I don't enjoy cooking much at all—except to spend time with you, of course."
Saki affectionately nudged Maria's lower side with a side-swing of her hips. Normally, she would have hugged the redhead, but she didn't want to risk touching her with greasy hands. It did not occur to Saki at that point that her gesture had been flirtatious.
"Oh, you," Maria chuckled; "you're always praising me."
"Of course." Saki set the cutlets on a large pan and started frying them in cooking oil. "It's my duty as a parishioner to praise and worship the goddess. Remember what we used to say when we were ten? You said you start 'The Church of Megumi Maria', and I promised to be your first worshiper."
Maria added the miso paste, wiped her hands with a cloth, and hugged Saki from behind. "I can't believe you still those days," she said. "It's so sweet of you. But you know, Saki." She started to tease. "The cabbage you chopped to go with the tonkatsu looks pretty clumsily done. And you don't enjoy cooking or chores. But you're good at praising pretty women. Saki, how are you going to be a wife someday when you're more like a husband?"
"Hmph! How rude, Maria." Still, Saki couldn't help a chuckle. "You might be right, though. I like fishing and swimming and exploring just as much as my dad. I've always thought it would be great to be like a knight who serves and protects a fine lady."
Using her Cantus, Maria started breaking the green onions into small pieces. "Well, I suppose one can be a knight and a woman at the same time." The playful smile had left her face and she looked rather serious for a minute. "If you want to be like a knight, though, you have to find a beautiful lady. Saki, I think you would be well suited to choose a girl as your lover."
"Me?" Saki asked in surprise. She had not yet realized her own natural inclinations. "Well… now that I think about it… I guess I'm not against dating a girl. But do you think there are any girls at Sage Academy who really like the same gender?"
The redhead smiled mysteriously. "Maybe there are, maybe there aren't."
***Aonuma Residence, Pinewind Village, Kamisu 66***
Shun Aonuma experienced a strange dream that night. He found himself standing on a low stone wall between a forest and a battlefield. He somehow knew that the forest was the place he belonged. The ancient trees that he grew up around were soothing to look at, and the air was filled with the scent of pine needles. As he gazed at the pines, Shun suddenly realized his parents were there, standing together on a stone platform half-shrouded by trees. They were kissing passionately, their lips separating and rejoining, pulling apart and then pressing together. They held each kiss for several seconds, letting their tongues interact and exploring each other's mouths.
Seeing this, Shun felt disgusted, but only at first. Soon he grew curious. Mr. Aonuma was touching his wife's chest, each hand gently squeezing a breast. Shun wondered what that must feel like, and he felt a strange longing to be near a girl and see her bare chest. Mrs. Aonuma had an expression on her face like pain, and yet not quite like pain. Was it some kind of pleasure? Shun desperately wanted to feel it himself.
"Come on, Shun," said a cheery voice.
The voice belonged to Saki. She, Maria, Satoru, and even Mamoru ran past Shun, out of the forest and into the open battlefield. The four of them were laughing happily, and kept calling out to Shun to join them. But Shun was so shocked he didn't know what to do. For some reason, the four young adolescents were not wearing any clothes. Even the usually modest Saki was completely naked. Shun couldn't help staring at her. Her skin looked seemed to have an angelic glow to it, her hair had an unusual smoothness and shine, and the way she could move her small, feminine body was hypnotizing. Her chest was just beginning to develop a little, and Shun found this incredibly endearing. He was filled with a sweet, heavy happiness mixed with a mad longing.
"Come and join us, Shun," Saki said, the inviting words flowing from her smooth, Azalea-pink lips.
"No, son." It was the voice of Shun's mother. "Do not join them. If you enter that battlefield, you'll never be able to return to your home in the forest." She was staring at Shun coldly. "What your father and I have, that's true love. The love of adults. The love between children is vacuous, and quick to die."
Shun hesitated for several seconds. He truly respected his parents and had no intention of parading around the usual teenage rebelliousness in his own life. So, at first he trusted the words of his mother. As the seconds passed, though, they felt like years. Shun felt unbelievably lonely. He tried to ignore the pain, but it grew until he could bear it no longer.
Mr. Aonuma shouted at his son to turn back, but Shun ignored him, running as fast as he could out of the forest. As he ran, he became aware that he was really only lonely for Saki. He jumped over the stone wall and dashed out into the battlefield, looking around wildly for any sign of the brunette girl. Finally, he spotted her, but she no longer paid any attention to him. Saki lay in the grass on top of Maria's body, covering the redhead's pale, elegant skin with loving kisses.
"What's wrong, Shun?" Saki asked without bothering to look up at him. "Are you lonely? Why don't you find your lover? The person you love will help you. As for me, I'm busy."
Suddenly, Shun felt vulnerable, small, and broken. He lowered himself onto his knees, and tears began to fill in his green eyes. That Saki would not look at him, that Saki was kissing someone else—these facts truly, deeply hurt. Despair engulfed the boy. His heart was broken.
"It looks like you hesitated too long. But don't give up. Don't cry. There is still someone you love."
Just as the dream was ending and Shun's vision was going black, he heard those words. The voice speaking them was familiar, but somehow, Shun could not remember to whom it belonged. Whoever it was had just sat down beside the heartbroken boy. The familiar stranger embraced him. Shun's pain began to lessen. As he woke up from the strange dream, he wondered… who was embracing him with so much love? Who had spoken those words of hope? Why did Shun feel so strongly attached to the one who had come to relieve his pain? Who was it?
***Asahina Residence, Hayring Village, Kamisu 66***
Satoru and his parents lived in one of the smaller stone houses in Hayring. It was fairly plain affair, but Mrs. Asahina loved home décor, so she made the most of it. One of her favorite things to do was select large paintings and hang them up around the house. Satoru found most of the paintings boring, but he enjoyed going with his mother to buy the art so he could pick out smaller pieces for himself. Besides the paintings, the only unique aspect of the house was the large cellar-basement. Satoru spent a lot of time in that cool, stone cellar, especially during the evening and nights. Satoru's dad was never around anymore, and his mother worked a night job, so most evenings, the boy was all alone. Occasionally, however, he invited a special friend to join him. That night, the friend came over without permission.
Rei Genji entered the basement, which was only dimly lighted by a single lantern, and closed the door behind him. The short boy's grey eyes were alight with anticipation. He took off his light jacket and rushed over to where Satoru sat on a soft blanket overtop the cold stone. When Rei hugged him, the force of it almost knocked Satoru onto his back.
"Rei," said the taller boy in surprise. He gently petted Rei's head, running his fingers threw his deep mahogany hair. "Rei… it was really thoughtful of you to come over tonight. I guess you heard the news about my dad, huh?"
Hayring was the village with the highest population and most public facilities, but gossip still spread like wildfire among the quaint villagers. For the last two days, the target of gossip was Satoru's family. Mr. Asahina had suddenly announced, on Shun's thirteenth birthday, that he would be leaving the family. He would buy his own small residence in Gold Village, and he told his wife and child not to bother visiting him. At first, Satoru and his mother did not take his words seriously, because Mr. Asahina had threatened to leave many times before. Now that Satoru was thirteen, however, he could now legally abandon the family. Three days ago, Mr. Asahina had disappeared. He hadn't been seen in Hayring since, and Satoru was forced to accept the truth.
"Yes, I heard," said Rei, voice full of genuine sympathy. "That's exactly why I came. I'll keep you company tonight." Sitting on his knees, he lowered his head until it was pillowed in Satoru's lap.
Satoru looked annoyed and sympathetic at the same time. "I don't mind if you stay over," he said. "But still, Rei, you know… it can't be like it was before. I told you, I'm not interested anymore."
Rei sat up, took off his shirt, and pushed Satoru backwards. He lowered his body gently on top of Satoru's and quickly leaned in to kiss his crush. But Satoru turned his head to the side, refusing to kiss.
"What's wrong?" Rei asked. "We're actually allowed to be together, at last! You shouldn't feel reluctant. And if you're refusing because you're depressed, I know how to cheer you up. This is how we relieve stress, isn't it?"
Rei kissed the side of his love's cheek, and gently caressed his face and neck. Satoru didn't knock Rei off of him because he felt conflicted. The short boy had such appeal…his soft, exposed skin, the breathlessness in his voice, the quiet strength and stubbornness in his grey eyes… Satoru felt himself growing, and he could tell Rei was already getting hard. However… with great restraint, Satoru lifted the smaller boy off of him and let him fall to the side. They both sat up.
"Rei, I'm not going to say this again. I'm not interested in being your lover. I don't want you touching me."
Angry tears came to Rei's eyes. "That's bullshit! You're only saying these things because you're troubled. We've been secret lovers for a whole year. You can't kill that love by just saying 'it's over', and not giving any kind of explanation! I think it's because there is no explanation, no reason. You're just being capricious!"
Satoru got his feet, pushed his hair out of his face, and handed Rei's shirt back to him. He seemed torn between speaking and staying quiet. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke.
"Rei. I respect you enough to not dump you for no good reason. So, I'll tell you the reason. I'm sorry, Rei… but… there's someone else. I am deeply in love with a boy, and it's not you. I've loved this young man for a long time, but I was always afraid that he wouldn't accept me. That's why I started using you to comfort me. I'm sorry, Rei, but that's the truth."
Satoru would never forget the anguished cry of his first lover as he was forced to accept the truth. He and Rei wouldn't speak to each other for another full year at least. That was the last night Rei ever visited the Asahina residence.
